ACCA sees record number of students complete final exams

Global 8 Aug 2013

These are exacting and demanding exams that prove competency, knowledge and skills that are much in demand by employers. So we congratulate all those who have passed this last session’s exams – they deserve a great deal of credit, particularly the 7,700 who have completed their final exams.

More students on the path to become ACCA members

Global exam results for ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) reveal today that a record number of students around the world successfully completed their final exams in June 2013.

Over 195,000 candidates took almost 358,000 papers around the world, with an additional 55,000 students sitting computer based exams.

More than 7,700 students have completed all the exams needed for that aspect of their professional qualification. This is a further increase on the previous record numbers in December 2012, enabling these students to take the next step to ACCA membership on completion of their practical experience and ethics requirements.

Overall pass rates across the Skills module (F4 to F9) and all of the Professional level of the ACCA Qualification rose this session. Other than F4, Corporate and Business Law, results in the Skills module were particularly pleasing when compared to recent sessions. As a result, over 10,000 students become eligible at this session for ACCA’s Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business on completion of their Professional Ethics module which is another step to membership.

The formats of P4 - Advanced Financial Management, and P5 - Advanced Performance Management, were changed this session to be identical in format to the P1 to P3 exams, giving five of ACCA’s Professional level exams a detailed 50 mark case study. It was hoped that students would find the new format exams less time pressured, leading to improved results, although the exams remain as technically demanding. However, little change has been seen in the pass rates this session and ACCA will continue to promote supporting study materials and other underpinning resources to help students perform better in the future.

Additionally, a record number of almost 5,400 students transferred from the Foundations in Accountancy register to ACCA on completion of their Diploma in Accounting and Business exams or their Foundation Specialist exams.

Alan Hatfield, ACCA director - learning, said about the results: 'These are exacting and demanding exams that prove competency, knowledge and skills that are much in demand by employers. So we congratulate all those who have passed this last session’s exams – they deserve a great deal of credit, particularly the 7,700 who have completed their final exams.'

Alan Hatfield concluded: 'Previous ACCA research shows that employers want to recruit finance professionals with a complete skills set – people with a breadth and depth of knowledge, who possess a full understanding of the finance chain. This is what the ACCA qualification provides – complete finance professionals.

'It’s also pleasing to see that many students who have passed their final papers have also completed their practical experience requirements whilst studying for the exams. Practical experience is an important requirement of becoming an ACCA member, and we look forward to welcoming our new members soon.'